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Hotel Review: Festive Inn, Medan – Indonesia

August 14, 2023 By James Clark

OYO Festive Inn

Hotel Name: Festive Inn.
Address: Jl. Sambu, Pandau Hilir, Kota Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia.

I stayed at the Super OYO 3159 Festive Inn in Medan, Indonesia. I booked online at the rate of $8.23 USD per night, and I booked it for its price and location in Medan. I was passing through Medan after getting the train and bus from Lake Toba. I wanted a hotel near the train station so I could get the first airport train to Kualanamu.


[Map of Festive Inn in Medan.]

This hotel is less then 10-minutes walk from the station, so that was ideal.

Jalan Sambu

OYO is a budget hotel brand that licences its brand with cheap hotels. The hotel then adds “OYO” and a number to their name. They are similar to RedDoorz, who they in competition with in Indonesia.

OYO Festive Inn

I’m just going to keep calling this hotel the Festive Inn.

Festive Inn

I had arrived early so I dropped my bags off and came back at the check-in time. After checking in I was shown to my room. The hotel felt grimy, and the grime was confirmed when I was shown my room.

Festive Inn bedroom

My room was a twin room with private bathroom, and my room had a window. There is free wifi here, and the room was air-conditioned.

Festive Inn twin beds

The walls were grimy, as if people had put dirty feet on the wall. I’m not sure how else a wall gets so grimy. The paint was also peeling, adding to the run-down feel of the room.

Festive Inn grimy wall

The bathroom also felt grimy. The mirror was dirty, the shower glass was slimy, and the floor was also slimy. The room had just been cleaned when I arrived so the floor was wet, but no effort was made to clean the slime.

Festive Inn bathroom

I was glad to have an early flight so I could get out of here. I woke up before the alarm and didn’t hesitate to get up earlier.

I know this room was under 10 dollars, so I can’t really complain for getting such a cheap room. I couldn’t help but compare this experience with any random cheapo hotel I stay at in Thailand or Vietnam, where even the cheapest places are at least kept in a clean and tidy state. I also wonder about OYO (and RedDoorz), who in their expansion quest have not vetted their cheap hotels properly.

Check for more hotels in Medan.

Read more about my trip to Medan.

Filed Under: Accommodation Tagged With: hotel, indonesia, medan, sumatra

About James Clark

James Clark is the founder of Nomadic Notes. He has been a digital nomad since 2003, and Nomadic Notes features trip reports, train travel articles, and where to stay guides. He writes about transport and urban development at Future Southeast Asia. Subscribe to the weekly travel newsletter.

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James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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